STREET FAIR WEEK: Some artists at downtown Street Fair don’t have to look far for ideas

Island Park Ramp: Entrance at First Avenue South between Broadway and Fourth Street

Civic Center Lot: 200 3rd St. N.

FARGO – The 37th annual Downtown Street Fair this week takes over an urban setting that makes the largest free outdoor event in North Dakota an undeniable draw.

Much of downtown, especially Broadway and the Fargo Theatre, are iconic images throughout the region. It’s no surprise, then, that some of the art on sale at the fair takes its inspiration from that very scene.

Fargo photographer Dennis Krull, who enhances his images using software such as Photoshop, is one of a handful of artists at the fair who examine the downtown cityscape through their art.

Krull will be selling his other photographs of landscapes and other scenes as well, but it’s the downtown images, he says, that seem to take on a certain significance for people.

One reason for this, he thinks, is because of the continued evolution of the heart of the city.

“We have this historic, iconic theater that kind of all by itself became the icon for Fargo itself,” Krull says. “People are just drawn to it.”

That, coupled with the ever-popular movie “Fargo” and the city’s growing reputation as a place for business, has made it increasingly common for people to want to have their own piece of downtown, Krull says.

“People are looking for these images, these tokens to bring home,” he says, referring to both out-of-town travelers and local residents alike. “There’s not a lot of easy access to Fargo memorabilia, but people are looking for it.”

And even though Fargo’s downtown might seem like a pretty straightforward concept, Krull thinks that with each artist who approaches it using their respective mediums, the place becomes something new each time.

“Each artist has kind of taken it on themselves and put in their vision, their thoughts of a Fargo piece,” he says.

A map detailing the locations of all vendors at the Street Fair will be available online Wednesday at www.downtownfargo.com.